{Merry Christmas}

Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with joy, peace, and love!

I'm so grateful for the gift of the Savior. I know with everything in me that a Savior was born those many years ago in Bethlehem. I know that he is the gift. 

 I am so grateful for his profound influence on my life. He is the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, our advocate with the Father, the way, the light, and the life of the world. He comforts us. He is our best friend. He sacrificed all so that we can live again with him, he made exaltation possible. He brought purpose to our lives, Because of him we can repent and start over. I know he lives, he loves us, and that he is our Savior. 

So much is possible because of him! As we strive to come unto him in everything we do, I testify that we can find more joy, peace, and love than we ever thought possible!

While we cannot physically come and adore him, I hope that we can keep him, his glorious birth, life and ministry in our hearts. I hope that we can glorify him and adore him in our daily lives as we strive to become more like him.

May your days be merry, joyful, peaceful, and bright!
-Shelby

PS: Below are some of my very favorite messages about the true meaning of Christmas. They touch me each time I see them and I would love it if you would take the time to watch them. Pretty please, it can be your gift to me this Christmas:)

\

Thoughts on the Atonement// Articles of Faith 3

*The following is from a talk I wrote and gave a while back. I know the Atonement is real and the Savior and our loving Heavenly Father know us and care about us more than we can even comprehend. Please keep this in mind throughout the week! Happy Monday!*

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ all Mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

It was the ultimate expression of love.

The key to peace, joy, and happiness in this life and the life to come.

The Atonement plays such a vital role in each of our lives. “(Alma 34:9).... according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish;  Bruce C Hafen said, “Christ’s Atonement is at the very core of this plan. Without his dear dear sacrifice, there would be no way home, no way to be together, and no way to be like him”

Without the Atonement the gospel is pointless. We can never become like Christ and we can never return to live with our Father in Heaven, so why try? Living the gospel. without applying the Atonement is useless. We will never be perfect on our own, we will never overcome the Natural Man without the guidance of the Spirit we can get when we have repented, and we can never truly repent without Christ’s unimaginable sacrifice of taking our and other’s pain upon him.

The Atonement encompasses so much of our life. There are 3 principles of the Atonement:

1. Love.
1. The Atonement is the ultimate expression of love. The Savior was willing to suffer unimaginable pain and humiliation for our, yes mine and everyone else’s in this room and in the world, salvation. If you feel like no one cares, I want each and every one of you to know that you ARE loved. I know with all my heart that there is a loving Heavenly Father who loves each and everyone of us beyond comprehension. A Father who was willing to send his Beloved Son, who had done no wrong and made no mistake, to suffer.
2. All things unfair can be made right through the Atonement.
1. Many things in this life are unfair. From simply being let down, to terrible shootings the age old saying “life’s not fair” rings true as ever. But why does our Father in Heaven allow this to happen to good people? Dallin H Oaks explains it best, “Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquillity.”7 While we know that unfair things happen for a reason, it doesn’t always make it easier. The precious Sacrifice of The Savior allows us to press forward through trials and forgive those that have wronged us because our Savior has felt our pain and has payed the price for other’s mistakes. "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people…..(12) and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."(Alma 7:11) The Atonement allows the Savior to fully comfort us and stand beside us, carrying us when we are too weak to walk, and whispering peace into our hearts when we are worried and overcome; because he knows exactly what we are feeling. The night in Gethsemane allowed The Savior to overcome every unfair thing in this life.
3. You can overcome the natural man through the Atonement.
1. So what is the Natural Man? According to Mosiah 3:19, where King Benjamin is talking, “The natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam.” King Benjamin warned that in this natural, or fallen, state, each person will be an enemy to God forever “unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” The ultimate goal of our time on earth is to become more like Christ. But we can’t become like him on our own. It’s simply impossible. We are all human and imperfect beings learning and striving to be our best and we will all slip up and make mistakes at one time or another.One of my favorite scriptures, which happened to be the youth theme in 2014, states, “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness” (Moroni 10:32).  This scripture reiterates the fact that we are all imperfect beings that rely on Christ. We can’t do it without his help. We have to depend on the Atonement to overcome the Natural Man inside of us. While it is easy to become frustrated on our mortal journey to our lofty goal of perfection, a New Era article puts it best, "trying to become perfect all at once is like trying to climb up a mountain while riding a unicycle and juggling, Impossible.” But as we learn to apply the Atonement to our lives, day by day, minute by minute, we learn a fundamental truth taught by Quentin L Cook “The enabling power of the Atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own.”

The Atonement can bring us the peace we so desperately seek in this world of turmoil and contention. Quentin L. Cook said, “The Savior is the source of true peace. Even with the trails of life,  because of The Savior’s Atonement and His grace, righteous living can be rewarded through personal peace.”

The last part of this Article of Faith is key to our Salvation. “By Obedience to laws and Ordinances.”

The Atonement is not a magic wand. It doesn’t clean up and fix everything magically. We must do our part by living Christ’s word and desiring to become clean and pure. We must desire and try our very best to live according to the teachings of the Gospel.

Linda K Burton gave an amazing analogy to The Atonement in the 2012 Conference, “A woman walking along a road fell into a pit so deep she could not climb out. No matter what she did, she could not get out by herself. The woman called for help and rejoiced when a kind passerby heard her and lowered a ladder down into the pit. This allowed her to climb out of the pit and regain her freedom”

Luckily, we don’t have to wait and wait just hoping that someone will throw down a ladder. Christ has already paid the price of buying the ladder, which allows us to climb out of our pit of sin and come unto the vast beautiful world of righteousness and salvation once we truly desire to get out. Then we must do our part by actually climbing the ladder.

I have made too many mistakes to count, do I wish I could redo parts of my life? Certainly. But do I have regrets? No. because I know that once I have repented The Atonement has made it right. I think the key is to feel sorry, make it right, repent, learn from it and move on. Don't spend valuable time regretting your mistakes. They can be made right through The Atonement. I know without a doubt that The Atonement is real. I know that our Savior loved us enough to die on the cross for us, beaten, bruised, and spit upon so we could live again with him by becoming clean of our sins.. He loved us that much. He loves us beyond comprehension. I know that The Atonement makes it possible for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father someday. I know that Christ lives and loves us no matter what. He is your best friend, your biggest cheerleader, your Comforter, and your Redeemer. He knows we are imperfect, and walks beside us, helping us become who we are destined to be and fulfilling our Divine Inheritance as sons and daughters of a living Heavenly Father. Since he has faced such devastating pain we can find peace and comfort knowing that he always stands beside us. He will lift us up and carry us through times of strife, darkness, and hurt. He is there. He loves us. He added purpose to our mortal ministry no other could. I know will all my heart the he broke the chains of death, freeing us from it's bondage. We can have peace and hope and joy and salvation. If we will just believe and accept this glorious truth! It was the ultimate expression of love. The key to peace, joy, and happiness in this life and the life to come.I am so thankful for the Savior's amazing gift to us.

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen,

Why waking up at 4:30 am and being a bit peculiar makes me incredibly happy

Everyone says they are weird. It's the norm. While it used to be the "cool thing" to be normal, now people find pride in saying they are weird. Crazy how the world is always tossing, flipping, and mixing things up, huh?

I'm not going all the way and saying that I'm weird, but trust me when I say I'm not your average teenager. Sure I like to text, I have an instagram, I try to look decent, and I'm a fan of food, but here's where it gets a little....different?

• I leave my house at 5:30 every morning so I can get to church on time for 6 am scripture study before school.  
• I try to learn about my ancestors so I can help them on their path to salvation because they've done so much for me. Yep, I do genealogy. It's not just for old people. 
• I love to babysit my younger siblings and spend time with my family. Some teens think their parents and siblings are lame. Not me. I think they're pretty much the bomb.com
• Ummm, I blog. What teenagers do this? I know of a few who are pretty awesome people. While it might be a little strange it makes me so happy. Even though a lot of people don't realize it blogging is actually pretty cool;)
• Aside from waking up early I try to read the scriptures on my own. I choose to read the King James version which can be pretty confusing. But I do my best to understand and keep reading because I love the peace and happiness it brings. 
• Once a month, on the first Sunday, I fast. I skip 2 meals without food and water for a special purpose. 
• I choose to use clean and uplifting language. I don't cuss and I do my very best to make all my words kind. 
• I've never tasted coffee in my life. I choose to keep my body the way Heavenly Father created. Really the best energy giver is sleep. 
• While I don't make a lot of money, I give 10% of what I earn to help build church buildings, temples, help those in need, and support missionaries.  
• I choose to listen to uplifting music. It really stinks when a song is ruined by a dirty word. 
• My biggest dream is to get married in the temple, have a family with a few kids, and be a mom.

Now don't get concerned. I promise I'm not sick:)

And I don't say all of this for praise or to sound like I'm awesome. Because while I do these things I don't do them perfectly. I try to but it's impossible. 

I do all this because I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

I don't get punished when I don't do these things. My mom doesn't make me. I'm not forced or required to do any of these things. It's definitely not a social norm I've decided to fall into. 

i promise you. i choose to do all of this 100% on my own. 

So why? Why oh why? Why why why? 

Because it makes me so incredibly happy. Giddy really. Overjoyed. Elated. Can't wash the smile off my face kind of happy. 

I might want to fall over because I feel like I'm drowning in school and seminary came quite early. It would be easy to pocket that extra 10% that could bring me closer to that fancy camera I'm yearning for. One bite of a cookie on the first Sunday of the month wouldn't kill me. And that cup of coffee that everyone claims to be gold could probably help me stay up just a bit longer. 

It would be easy as pie. But I honestly don't want to. 

This gospel gives me so much purpose. Reading my scriptures and writing this little old blog of mine has filled my time along with endless church activities. What purpose would I have without the gospel? I honestly don't want to think about where I would be without it. Would I still want to do good? Would I still try to be kind? Would I still work hard? Would I have friends who were good influences? Would my language be littered with curse words or scriptures I'm trying to memorize? Would I understand who I truly am? Because all of this plays such a vital role in who I am. 

The gospel brings me peace and joy and so so much goodness. I really can't describe the feelings I get. When I think about where I would be without it my heart starts to beat furiously and my face twists with worry. When I think about where I am with the help of my Savior my heart fills with so much joy and peace, I can't help but smile and I just want to hug and love everyone. 

While I've never become inactive or committed a humongous sin I have seen in my life where I have slacked a little. I started caring a little too much about what the world thought. I wanted to reach that goal but it was unattainable. I was not very happy. I just wanted to be enough. During that time I started and continued writing my blog. And so many wonderful things have happened since. Since I've poured my heart into the pages of the world wide web. Since I've read my scriptures and realized who I am. Since I realized it's about anything but me. Since I've realized how good kind feels. 

I don't think I can say it enough. I am happier than I've ever been. 

I'm still your typical teenager in the sense that I'm so helplessly imperfect. I mess up constantly. But I'm doing my best to come unto Christ so He can help me become as perfect as I can. 

So try it out for me.... live your best. Dedicate yourself to things that really matter and live happy. Because it's such a glorious thing when you make that leap of faith. 

uplifted & inspired

Conference was pure amazingness.

I just realized that was almost 2 weeks ago. Wow. That went by pretty fast. But it has stuck with me throughout the busyness.

As a slowly reread all the super inspiring talks, the importance of defending and growing close to family, the Savior's love and grace, being a light and example, and so many other important principles stick out to me,

I have been trying so hard to apply what was said in conference. I've been trying to read my scriptures and say my prayers more consistently. Aside from the broader areas it has helped me specifically too. Once a month members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints fast for 2 or more meals, we fast for a reason. I woke up especially hungry and thirsty, but I knew that I wanted to fast. After printing out Elder Erying's talk and reading about the blessings and importance of fasting it helped me have the strength and determination to keep going. While this was a tiny example it really shows how conference can impact our lives.

My favorite talk (it is super hard to pick a favorite! They were all so good!) was Elder Holland's. I loved the story about the 2 brothers. It is such a comfort, a humongous indescribable peace and blessing, to know that the Savior lives and loves me (and each and every one of you) and will never let us fall. I can just see the scene between the 2 brothers, but instead I imagine me falling and the Savior's arms. No matter who you are or what religion PLEASE read this talk for me?

I could write pages and pages about how much I loved conference and how I feel so uplifted and inspired, ready to tackle the world and become a better person. Please don't take it from me though, go read a talk or 2....... or all of them.....preferably all of them:)

-Shelby

Happy Easter!
I know that my redeemer lives, what joy this sweet sentence gives. He lives He lives who once was dead! I know that my Redeemer lives! 

What joy this sentence does give! I know that Christ lives and loves us. I know he suffered unimaginable pain and sorrow so we could live again with him by becoming clean of our sins. He knows we are imperfect, and walks beside us, helping us become who we are destined to be and fullfilling our Divine Inheritance as sons and daughters of a living Heavenly Father. Since he has faced such devastating pain we can find peace and comfort knowing that he always stands beside us. He will lift us up and carry us through times of strife, darkness, and hurt. He is there. He loves us. He added purpose to our mortal ministry no other could. I know will all my heart the he broke the chains of death, freeing us from it's bondage.

"He lives, and while he lives I'll sing!..... He lives to grant me rich supply.

He lives to guide me with his eye.

He lives to comfort me when faint.

He lives to hear my soul's complaint.

He lives to silence all my fears.

He lives to wipe away my tears.

He lives to calm my troubled heart.

He lives all blessings to impart.  He lives! All glory to his name!

He lives, my Savior, still the same.

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:

"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

He lives! All glory to his name!

He lives, my Savior, still the same.

Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:

"I know that my Redeemer lives!"

Ideas for celebrating Easter

This Easter week, I am really trying to focus on the Savior and I thought you all might like to know what I am using! It is so important to focus on the Savior all the time, but especially close to Easter as we try to understand everything he did for us.  A lot of times it seems like Easter is a one time deal, where as Christmas has a whole season. Easter represents so many glorious things, the Atonement, the Savior, the Resurrection and all that was made possible because of them, so why does it get less attention?

I am totally referencing this GREAT resource! It is geared towards family activities, but it can be easily used for just you. The thing I loved most was how it had scriptures for each day and things to journal/think about.

These bible videos are great for understanding stories, especially with younger kids. Mormon Messages are also amazing!

I've been reading the mormon.org page about #becausehelives and #heishere, it also has things about each day of the week you can read. Later in the week I plan to post a picture with the #heishere marker. I'm also reading through the mormon.org page about Jesus Christ. It is super uplifting and a great reminder about all that Jesus Christ is and did for us.

Videos: ( I only linked 3 but there are SO many more on The Mormon Channel youtube account-they don't just apply to Mormons either, I encourage everyone to watch them!)

(I wouldn't encourage showing the last one to small children because it is super sad, the reason I included it is because of the words. It might be best to just press play and minimize it because I feel like the words are SO powerful. You can listen to the whole talk here.)

Most other links I would recommend are linked in the first source so you can find them there. Another great idea would be to look up talks about Easter, Christ, and the Atonement.

Journaling is my last recommendation. Some ideas are:
What role does Christ play in my life?
How do I see his influence?
What can I do to draw nearer to him?
What role does the Atonement add to my life?
Without Christ and the Atonement would life have purpose?
What purpose do they add?
How does the Atonement relate to grace?
What power is there in the statement he lives?
Thoughts on the Savior's love
How can we become more like the Savior?
Christ gave up all for us... what can we give up for him?
What blessings have you seen because of the Atonement?

What ideas do you have? Any great links you know of? I'll add them to the list!

I hope you all have an amazing Easter week as you strive to make Easter and the glorious truths it holds part of your lives.

-Shelby

Seeing the Beauty

I am absolutely fascinated by sunsets. I love the beauty of the colors and the brightness of the beautiful sun. I'm kind of obsessed with light if you haven't been able to tell:)

 The color in each of these photos is amazing! God has made such a beautiful earth! Isn't it amazing!?!

These girls have blessed my life in more ways than you can imagine.

 It looks like it could go on forever!

 Look at those colors!

I love this picture SO much for a few different reasons. This perfectly explains my sweet little sister. And she wore her wings around for about a week:) Everywhere. Church activities, playing outside, going out to eat, going to the grocery. It was kinda  sorta adorable:)

Have a wonderful day!
-Shelby

Because of Him

Because of Him we can have peace.
Because of Him we can be happy.
Because of Him we will live again.
Because of Him death has no power.
Because of Him we can be saved.
Because of Him we can live with our Heavenly Father again.
Because of Him we can see our love ones who have passed.
Because of Him Satan has no power unless we give it to him.
Because of Him we can regain perfect bodies after our death.
Because of Him we can live joyously.
Because of Him we can do great things.
Because of Him we have hope.
Because of Him we can change the world.
Because of Him we can leave behind regrets.
Because of Him there is no lasting pain.
Because of Him wrong is made right.
Because of Him all unfair things can become fair.
Because of Him we have Salvation.

It was the ultimate expression of love.

I have made to many mistakes to count, do I wish I could redo my life at times- certainly. But do I have regrets- no because I know that once I have repented The Atonement has made it right. I think the key is to feel sorry, make it right, repent, learn from it and move on. Don't spend valuble time regretting your mistakes. They can be made right through The Atonement. I know without a doubt that The Atonement is real. I know that our Savior loved us enough to die on the cross for us, beaten, bruised, and spit upon. He loved us that much. He loves us beyond comprehension. I know that The Atonement makes it possible for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father someday. I know that everything stated above is true. We can have peace and hope and joy and salvation. If we will just believe and accept this glorious truth! I am so thankful for the Saviors amazing gift to us.

This past year I have learned so much about The Atonement. My faith has been strengthened beyond measure. I love the come follow me curriculum and everything it teaches. I think one of the most powerful atonement lessons I have learned is the 3 principles of The Atonement.
                  1)All that is unfair can be made right through the atonement
                  2) Love
                  3) Through The Atonement the natural man can be overcome.
I know with out I doubt this is true.

-Shelby

#becauseofhim

      

"Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer. Because of Him, death is not the end, and life takes on new meaning. We can change, we can start over—and we can live again with God. This Easter, celebrate His life and discover all that’s possible because of Him."

                                                                                         -Mormon.org 

Please, oh pretty please watch this video! It is so true! The atonement is amazing! Because of him so much is possible.

I add my testimony that everything in this inspiring video is true.

-Shelby
PS. While you are at it please check out this page on mormon.org!